It's all about holding and savoring the magic moments of childhood...exploring new dimensions of experience and wonderment...10 PRINCIPLES OF SPIRITUAL PARENTING: NURTURING YOUR CHILD'S SOUL is a book full of inspiring advice that all parents should take to heart.

Every chapter of this book leaves you with a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart. The book gives you very good ideas on how to grow closer to your family while developing their spirituality. The ideas for conversations with children were very helpful. This is a book I will enjoy giving to friends, especially new parents. I will also enjoy rereading it when I need a break from my hectic schedule.

I loved this book. It is such a positive, upbeat way to be a parent. The ideas and examples are very "doable" for me and I'm a busy mom. These authors have done a great job. I highly recommend this book. The conversations starters worked with my nine year old son. Just bought the book last week and I've already purchased three more copies for my friends. Very excellent!

INTO THE TIGER'S JAW has been an inspiration to my students and to me. In Lt. General Petersen we met a courageous man who was not afraid to stand up for what he felt was just and honorable---a man of integrity who overcame obstacles that would have defeated a lesser man. We felt shame at the injustices that he often endured and pride in his accomplishments. Thank you General Petersen and J. Alfred Phelps for this magnificent book and for introducing us to another American hero and role model.

It's one thing to hear about how great someone is; it's something totally different to have met that person and to KNOW how great that person is. Lt. Gen. Petersen was my Wing Commander while I was stationed in Okinawa (Headquarters, G-3) during my '83-'84 tour of "The Rock." Though we chatted briefly on a few occasions after his afternoon workouts (yes, he ran daily with that bad hip), he helped me forge an extremely strong sense of duty and honor, and he has been a very positive influence in my life that carries on even today. What's great about the book is that it grabs you and dives right in, taking you on a spellbinding trip that explores the heart and soul of a true battle-hardened, no-nonsense warrior. It could also serve as a seminal work on the history of race relations in the military over the past 50 years. Readers will be thrilled, fascinated, and even brought to tears as they become one with the words which flow so well that it's almost as if General Petersen has a direct link to your brain. There is high drama on all fronts, whether it's in the cockpit of an F-4 Phantom sustaining 37mm anti-aircraft fire, or in the military courtroom showcasing some of the world's most notorious people. The story of Lt. Gen. Petersen's personal life and his career in the Corps will be very inspirational and highly motivating for anyone who reads it. What else would you expect from a Marine?

Semper Fidelis.

It was truly wonderful to find such a book into day's market place...As a person of color it was absolutely amazing to find such an American Hero. Thanks General Petersen and Joseph A. Phelps for the insight!!!

In Chara M. Curtis' new book, a wise grandmother/crone takes us by the hand and walks us into illustrator Alfred Currier's lush Pacific Northwest landscape. She comes to help a little girl answer the question How Far To Heaven?

This is not a book about God or religion. It is about a girl who is feeling the loss of her grandfather and wants to understand what it means when people say he "went to heaven." She asks her guru--her grandmother. After all, Nanna still talks to Grandpa, so she must know where heaven is. And of course, grandma does. Her answer is a pastoral tour, and the reader has the honor of going along. We hear heavenly symphonies from the birds and smell the fragrance of heaven in the flowers. We experience the peace that must be heaven when we lay in a field beside Nanna looking up at the sky.

The book's strength lies in its ability to convey "experience." Curtis serves us a sensory salad of words that evoke sounds, smells and vivid images. Illustrator Currier creates pictures with such vibrancy and power we almost believe we could pick a blade of golden grass or feel the icy water of the mountain stream wash over our toes. His pictures simmer with an ethereal sunshine, as precious as heaven itself. The message of the book is expressed in the last line of the boook, "heaven is everywhere heaven is found." It is a comforting book for any child who has experienced the loss of a loved one. It skirts the subject of death and avoids any reference to religion, nevertheless a quiet spiritual presence pervades the book. Emerson and Thoreau would have approved. . . and I think you will too.

A little girl finds her grandmother sitting on the porch. When the girl asks what she is doing, Mama says that she is talking to Grandpa. The little girl doesn$B!G(Bt understand because he is dead, so she asks if heaven is far. She and her grandmother explore the country side and find wonderful sounds, smells and colors. The girl finds out that heaven is all around them. Beautiful realistic paintings illustrate their wanderings and conclusions. HOW FAR TO HEAVEN? is an excellent book for a child that has lost a grandparent.

Chara Curtis' How Far To Heaven? is categorized as a children's book, and certainly the story and pictures will be enjoyed by young people. But the text and ideas the book encompasses will also appeal to adults.

The book begins with a young girl discovering her grandmother "talking" to Grandpa, who is in heaven. When the girl asks "Is heaven very far?" the two take a walk through the meadow and into the woods to find it.

Their walk is a discovery of the wonders in nature and the realization that heaven is all around--in the song of a bird, the brightness of the sky and the color of the flowers.

The book is a pleasure to share with others. It touches many themes including cross-generational bonds, love for the earth, and bereavement, and will remain a family favorite to be handed down through generations.

Readers will be touched by the grandmother's song:

"Forever and always, inside, all around,
Heaven is everywhere heaven is found.
Listen with glad ears, see with love's eyes,
Give wings to your heart, and cherish the prize!
Forever and always we dance to the sound
For heaven is everywhere heaven is found."

The impressionistic illustrations by Alfred Currier add depth and focus to the writing and the overall publication is of high quality.

This book helped me understand that I'm the one in charge. The caregivers work for me and I see now that I need to take more control of the situations. It's a great resource for all aspects of people management.

This book is a treasure of facts and helps for any family member, friend, or professional seeking caregiver/personal assistant care for another, or for an individual seeking such care for him/herself. The book is reader friendly and proceeds in logical steps. The information is practical and useable. Compassion for and insight into the feelings of the care receiver are a part of the writing and this is invaluable to all as they move through the process of finding caregiver/personal assistants. The author "thought of everything" and addresses every question one could have because he has been in the situation of finding care for himself and knows what does and does not work. His expertise and information will be a welcome and comprehensive guide to anyone who needs to find, hire and manage caregiver or personal assistant help.

Finally, DeGraff has a new book! He is THE authority on personal care assistance, and I trust his experience, wisdom and advice. We have waited for this new edition for several years, and we find it chocked full of practical how-to's. This is a must for families seeking advice on managing care at home, for students and for health care workers. This book should be required reading for legislators and public policy advocates because this provides practical, up-to-date, relevant information for real-life settings; and it reminds us that legislation must support independent living and home care. With the graying of America, more and more people are going to realize the value of living at home with effectively managed personal care. Agency care often does not work, and it is not aimed at promoting the care recipients' need for independence, respect and wholesomeness. Managing care at home provides sensible and healthy options -- and DeGraff's expertise and advice shows how to go about it. This is learning from the best! Margaret A. Short, Ph.D.

My introduction to this series was my older brother's slightly worn Scholastic copy of Mystery of the Green Ghost. We both read it several times, and once we found out there were more, look out! We read them from the library, we cajoled Mom into taking us to the mall to buy them, we bought them at a local used bookstore. We were both hooked!
I can recommend every book in this series. My brother and I both read all the Hardy Boys (and liked them a lot), but these blow them out of the water! I think you can get 1-10 new (they've been reprinted), the rest you'll have to get used.
I've still got a complete set, but I'm rebuying them for a nephew. He's as excited about them as I was over 20 years ago. Excellent characters, spooky happenings, and just enough chills to keep a kid's pulse racing.
If you have kids, I can't recommend these highly enough.

The Three Investigators do it again, solving their strangest mystery thus far. This case involves a 3000-year-old mummy that mysteriously whispers in some archaic tongue to one professor alone. The boys overcome a number of hurdles set in their way, some involving great personal danger to themselves, to solve this perplexing mystery and, at the same time, return an unusual Abyssinian cat to his loving owner. As the series continues, we learn more and more about the boys themselves and their secret headquarters, see them employing more gadgets in their work, and see the logical gymnastics Jupiter Jones continually performs to find resolutions to case after case. There is more deductive reasoning exhibited in this case than in the trio's previous two adventures, and that only serves to further draw the reader into the world of Rocky Beach, California. As I continue to re-read these classic stories from my youth, my appreciation for the writing of Robert Arthur grows more and more. I was indeed pleased to see that my suspicions in this case proved correct in the end; even had I been wrong, I would not have been embarrassed because Arthur's tight plot works on two levels--that of young readers, who can certainly follow the case with understanding and eager anticipation for each upcoming chapter, as well as that of adults. This is a great mystery story in all regards.

They were my Heroes in my Childhood before Iron Maiden and Rock music enterd my Life and I became the Evil Person I am today. This is what I would buy my Kids If I ever should have some ( I'm trying to find a Girlfried-anybody out there! ) Their stories are creepy and suspenseful and Aunt Mathilda was the worst enemy they ever had. As I sad - you gotta love this.

I saw this book on my library shelf, and was totally caught by the title. Is it not the strangest title in history?! I loved this book though, it had a little bit of everything, and the story was incredible sarcastic. It's basically about a teenage girl describing highschool and the lies they tell you about it! Its a great book!!! EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS... come on, get off the computer and go get it NOW!

An EXCELLENT book! I give it 5 stars! A++++++! =-) I was skimming the book shelf of my teachers class looking for a book to read for my next test and I came accross this book. It looked like a good book and it was. I loved it so much that I kept the book and reread it 5 times!
~Fran

I wish I had the foresight to buy more of Ellen Conford's books from the late 70s, early 80s. I reread this book probably once a year, because it still is very funny and speaks to all the fears and dreams a teenage girl has. I always loved Ellen Conford, because she wrote about normal kids who did their homework, didn't do drugs and had both good and bad teachers in their classes. Julie is a great heroine because she's pretty normal, and therefore you can relate to her, her crushes, her family, her friends and her insecurities. As always, the moral is that you, as a teenaged female, are just great the way you are. Another plus for Ms. Conford.

This book deserves a place on every reader's bookshelf, especially if you are thinking of tackling the works of the giants of literature.

I would also recommend the book for those with children. It offers an excellent springboard for youngsters to find out more about famous authors, and also authors with a similar writing style. If the youngster enjoyed reading a classic in class, the book will point him towards other works and authors he may like.

Each author is profiled with a brief history, a quote by or about the author, a list of their works, and even a suggestion on which book is best to start with if you want to, say, read all of Melville's works.

Both classic and contemporary authors are profiled, all in alphabetical order. The selections are very good, and I did not detect any major omissions (of course, I'm not an English Lit professor or anything).

Selected authors include Dickens, Tolkien, Salinger, Melville, Tolstoy, Toni Morrison, Garrison Keillor, and many others.

An excellent reference title, and very affordable. The writing style is condensed, but easily accessible to readers of varying skill levels.

As I say, no home with school-aged kids should be without it.

This reference is fantastic. One only wishes it were longer! Each of 125 authors are given a dense two-page spread that includes a picture and short bio, an essay on their works and characters, lists of best books and companion volumes, and recommendations for the book you should read first as well as similar authors. All modern time periods are represented and include Jane Austen, Isaac Asimov, John Cheever, Margaret Atwood, John Irving, Leo Tolstoy, C.S. Forester, E.M. Forster, Joseph Conrad, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Leonard Elmore, Louis L'Amour, Joseph Heller, Jane Smiley etc. A wonderful selection.

The book would be great if it ended there, but further sections list literary award winners, the best of genre fiction, "best of" lists from The Modern Library and The New York Public Library, readers' resources (including those found online), information about reading groups, audiobooks, catalogues, used books, e-books, sources for book reviews and a list of national and state book festivals. Each section is exhaustive and well-organized.

An excellent index includes even those authors listed as suggestions, and highlights featured authors in bold type.

Just wonderful, if a bit dangerous. Highest recommendation.

If you are a voracious fiction reader, take time out to browse through and get lost in this book. It really is addictive. The wealth of information here is astounding - each of the 125 well loved authors in the book has his or her own two page spread featuring a picture, background info, incredibly interesting "good to know" facts about the author, which of the author's books to read first, Websites featuring even more info about the author.......and more, and more, and more...... Following the author info there is more 'book-junkie' information to tempt we readers of fiction; award winners, dos and don'ts of writing to an author, information on the different fiction genres. I see this as a perfect gift for fiction readers, especially if you don't know what books the recipient has already read. It's also an invaluable resource for book groups, teachers, and booksellers. An absolute treasure for the bibliophile!

The book does a very nice job of describing one of the more important, but forgotten, figures in US political history. Smith's role as governor of New York and the various groundbreaking reforms he introduced, his mentorship of various figures from FDR to Robert Moses, and of course being the first Catholic to run for President would be enough to rank him right up there with some of the more widely written about icons of America. When you consider two of his top four advisers were women (this is the 1920's, mind you), his role in building the nation's tallest building at the time, his emergence as a spokesperson for the immigrant masses who became a political force during his era (and the subsequent, seismic shift this caused in the nation's political landscape - he was the first Democrat to lose the Solid South since the Civil War), his being one of the first politicians to speak out against Hitler, and that he did all this without even attending high school, Al not only deserves a high quality biography but perhaps a major motion picture as well. John Cusack in the lead!

The book is occasionally "cheerleady" - superlatives come landing out of left field in the midst of other, more traditional descriptions of events. It is, however, critical and frank in other areas of Smiths career, so it reads in a balanced fashion overall. It is a great read and one that should be read by anyone interested in the US political landscape and how it got to what it is today.

there is a largely-forgotten statue of al smith on the lower east side at the corner of monroe & catherine streets, but i like to think of the empire state building as the true monument to al smith. at the time perhaps the building was a financial failure, but it was simultaneously a symbol of hope even during the depression when it was being built. only a man like al smith had the vision to help create a monument of such optimism during such bleak times - but more importantly, he did so with the intention of providing a symbol of hope to his fellow nyers. (a symbol, i might add, that has renewed importance in post-9/11 ny.)

i appreciate & love the fact that reading lists in nyc have been expanded to include the writings & histories of all the races & creeds & cultures that have come to nyc. but as a white, working-class, catholic nyer, i have noticed a real lack of identity awareness or cultural heritage. this biography of al smith fills that void: by presenting al smith and his beliefs, it not only describes the immigrant experience of catholics at the turn of the century, but shows too how great men like al smith were key in helping the various catholic immigrant groups (irish, italian, polish, etc) to become mainstream, integrated americans in this formerly predominantly-protestant country. the anti-catholic impulse in america is largely forgotten, & in fact it is also forgotten that there was a time when white catholic americans were certainly not considered part of the white ruling class.

in addition, i love the fact that al smith's life & legacy point to another subculture: the progressive catholics. this term is not an oxymoron; at one point in american history, catholics were on the frontlines of many progessive agendas. this book provides an insight into a church that might have been.

i strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in american history or politics, but moreso to anyone who wants to examine the relationship of ny to the rest of america or how the aspects of class and religion (& not just race) influenced the poltical and cultural climate of america in the 20th century.

al smith was a hero of the working class, a hero of immigrant groups, a hero for catholics, for liberals, for new deal democrats, and ultimately for all americans. it is a shame that most people - even nyers - don't even know his name. this book is a huge step toward remedying that tragedy.

very highly recommended!

A great story, about an individual who personifies everything great about America. Alfred E. Smith was the son of immigrants, whose parents ended up in Manhattan's Lower East Side. His Father died early in his life, leaving Smith to take care of his family.

Take care of them he did, leaving school as a child to get a job in the Fulton Fish Market, and thereafter becoming a self-educated man, who never forgot his origins. He associated with
Tammany Hall, and found his way to Albany as a state representative. From there, he ran for and became Governor of The Empire State. He rose to greatness from the humblest of origins.

As noted, no less than Franklin Delano Roosevelt paid the highest compliment to Smith, saying that the foundation of his own New Deal came from what Smith had done first as Governor of
New York. He said: "Practically all the things we've done in the federal government are the things Al Smith did as governor of New York." Smith was the champion of the working man
and woman, first distinguishing himself after one of the country's worst industrial tragedies, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire.

Sadly, most Americans outside of New York who know of Smith learned of him through what biographer Slayton accurately called the nastiest and most vicious political campaign in the history
of the Republic, when Smith was the first Catholic American to run for President in 1928 against Herbert Hoover (ironically, the candidate called best for business at the time). According to the author, by any measure of analysis, the reason Smith lost was due to those narrow minded individuals who would not accept him as their President because of his choice of religion,
otherwise guaranteed him under the Constitution.

But for Smith, we'd have a different feeling about what makes America great. He blazed a trail which shamed America into revealing a level of greatness it had never acknowledged before his time; culminating in the election of John F. Kennedy more than thirty years later. The commitment he had for the least of Americans became the saving grace of the country after the
depths of the Depression. Before the buzzword of the day was diversity, Smith was unabashed about celebrating it in his City, State and Nation.

He remains to my mind one of the greatest statesmen the Country ever produced. Biographer Slayton has done a phenomenal job in bringing his story to life.

Being an adaptation by and with the great Martin Jarvis, I thought it would be absolutely excellent, as I have found his audio efforts to be always. But in his performance there is something lacking, Sir Robert Chiltern should be played with a bit more pathos. Jacqueline Bisset is formidable, and Alfred Molina also as Lord Goring.

As to being a live recording, this is a mixed blessing. This public seems to misunderstand some lines, and there are misplaced laughs, for example when Robert Chiltern says: "I did not sell myself for money. I bought success at a great price. That is all". I'm sure Wilde didn't intend this to be a joke. Chiltern is not bought, he is not changed, it is he who buys something, therefore his character, his person, is not altered. The public dismisses this important nuance and bursts into a hearty fit of laughter.

There are three o four more like that. But on the whole, this recording by L.A. Theater Works is highly enjoyable.

Wilde, in part, attempts to portray the relativity of truth, power, and character, things we often take as absolutes, while also entertaining his audience with witty dialogue and comical mishaps.

Oscar Wilde gives us here one of his best plays. He explores the political world in London and how a young ambitious but poor man can commit a crime, which is a mistake, to start his good fortune. But he builds his political career on ethical principles. Sooner or later someone will come into the picture to blackmail him into supporting an unacceptable scheme, by producing a document that could ruin his career if revealed. His past mistake may come back heavily onto him. But he resists and sticks to his moral reputation. He prefers doing what is right to yielding to some menace. He may lose though his political ambition and career and his wife's love. But love is saved by forgiveness and the man's career is also saved by the work of a real friend who recaptures the dubious document and destroys it. In other words love and an ethical career are saved by the burrying of the old mistake into oblivion. In other words love and friendship are stronger than the scheming action of a blackmailer. This is a terrible criticism of victorian society which is based more on appearances than principles and yet able to destroy a man's absolutely ethical present life with a mistake from his youth, throwing the baby along with the water of the bath. It is also a criticism of the victorian political world where you cannot have a career if you are not rich, money appearing as the only way to succeed, at least to succeed fast. But it is a hopeful play because love and friendship are beyond such considerations and only consider the best interest of men and women, in the long run and in the name of absolute purity. Better be a sinner and be forgiven when you have reformed than see a reformed sinner destroyed by the lack of forgiveness. Oscar Wilde advocates here a vision of humanity that necessitates forgiveness as the essential fuel of any rational approach. Real morality is not the everlasting guilt of a sinner without any possible reform. Real morality is the recognition that forgiveness is necessary when reform has taken place. Otherwise society would be unlivable and based on hypocrisy and the death or rejection of the best people in the name of (reformed) mistakes. One must not be that sectarian, because man can learn from his mistakes and improve along the road : one can learn how to avoid mistakes and repair those oen has committed. If condemnation is absolute, no progress is possible. A very fascinating play, a very modern play. And yet when can one be considered as reformed, when can we consider one has really corrected one's mistakes and improved ? And who can deem such elements ? The very core of political and ethical rectitude is concerned here and Oscar Wilde embraces a generous approach.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan

In what is agruably one of Carlos Fuentes's best books(not my particular fave) he creates a story that is put together in such a fashion that it demands the readers full attention . At times it is difficult to follow the time period jumping by the narrator, Artemio , as he reflects on his long life and the twists and turns the events of his times have had on his own life. The narration allows Fuentes to give his jaded view of a corrupt Mexico and the power that it yields individuals. The author is never one to sugar coat his own personal views on Mexico, its culture, traditions and ultimately history. Fuentes focuses in and out of different time periods, at times in rapid freeze frames, like a camera run amok capturing the highlights of a journey, Artemio Cruz is forced to examine his own mortality and the terms of his own integrity. The book is a brillinat piece of literature that deserves more than one read. Like the character in the book , whose life has changed through the years, I decided to read this again and see if it was as powerful as the first time I read it some twenty years ago. For me the book is even better now, the translation is excellent and the book resonates with brilliant imagery and the importance of time and it's overall effect. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the literature of Mexico and would be an excellent choice for secondary educators teaching a course at the advanced literature level. This is a book that can be examined closely for it's allegorical substance as well as literally for it's historical commentary.

Artemio Cruz was a destitute boy when the Revolution started. Being a brave and unscrupulous man, he made his way through war and found an important place in the Regime that followed. He became rich and powerful through blackmail, bribe, collusion and violent corruption in general. Now, he's lying on his deathbed, remembering his life. In this novel, the most important character is language itself. Fuentes goes back and forth in time, using First, Second and Third person narrative, to reflect the different standpoints from where the story can be seen. The most interesting thing about the novel is the exploration, from the outside and the inside, of Cruz's mind and personality. It is also an allegory of Mexican history of the past century, which can be used additionally as a metaphor of human history in general. So, why the four stars, instead of five? I think Fuentes's portrait of Mexico, while certainly accurate, uses too many cliches and commonplaces. It's a personal thing, not to dishearten potential readers: the novel is good and cleverly constructed.

In Death of Artemio Cruz Fuentes shows the painful torturous death of a man named Artemio Cruz who lies on his deathbed; his family scurrying around him; looking for the lastest edition of his will; while bitterly recounting different episodes of his and their lives. His wife was literally given to him by her father who Cruz swindles out of his old hacienda fortune; his daughter squirms at the literally decomposing body of her father who's dying of an instestinal blockage (among other things) while she plans her wedding to an insipid dandy lawyer; his doctor tries to treat him by his symptoms and disects him figuratively describing him in purely biological and medical terms but like most doctors in most situations there's pretty much nothing he can; do the prognosis is pretty much hopeless; the man is literally dying. Cruz himself is a power-wielding totalitarianist who rules his little fiefdom with an iron fist; he's an opportunist; if given the chance he'll kick a man when he's down; he has very little sympathy for idealism or love; he's lost that bit by bit; most of it's been torn away from him during the war when he lost his true love. One is left with a deep set feeling of pity for this man who's suffered so much and tortured so many people (including the reader) because he can never truly come to terms with getting his heart ripped out of him; you're almost glad when the book ends and he's remembering his early childhood and the narrator starts to recount his birth; he's uncorrupted at this point; naked; crying and in pain; his little body literally being thrust unto this earth and at the same time the doctors tear into him; his body's shutting down; the surgeons are cussing; cursing this decrepit old man's body which is turning into a mushy corpse...

This is not an easy book to read; not because it's disgusting or the words are too difficult; it's just that this man is so repulsive it's very difficult to continue reading this book; it's literally torture to read this book; but finishing it and getting to the end; putting this man to death and putting him in perspective at the same time; because this was a difficult read; you will come away satisfied that all that suffering Fuentes put you through was worth it.

Some books it brings to mind are Absalom, Absalom! by Faulkner and even maybe Wurthering Heights by Emily Bronte; if you're looking for a comparable parable. Read it; ...if you dare!